GAITHER'S FAVORITE BLACK BEAN SOUP

GAITHER FAMILY RECIPE:

Bill's Favorite Spicy Black Bean Soup*

Ingredients: 

2 pounds dried black beans
2 envelopes Lipton's Onion Soup mix
1 or 2 large Vidalia onions, chopped
1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
3 tablespoons olive oil (or more to taste)
1 teaspoon Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning (green label) or to taste
16-ounce jar of salsa (mild or medium spicy, whichever you prefer)

Instructions:

Wash beans in colander with very hot tap water until skins begin to pop open a bit. Place beans and all ingredients except salsa in a large soup pot.

Add water to double the depth of beans. Cook on high until water boils; then turn to low and cook for at least 3-4 hours. Add more water, salt and Tony's if needed. When beans are tender, add jar of salsa.

To serve:

Spoon a mound of hot cooked rice into large soup bowl, then fill bowl with the bean soup. Great with cornbread, too!

*From the Gaither Family Recipes section of 'He Started The Whole World Singing' (book) by Gloria Gaither. Copyright 2004. Used by permission. 

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BROWN SUGAR FLUFF FROSTING

I have had this recipe for so many years I have no idea where I got it!

2 egg whites
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/3 cup cold water
dash of salt
1 tsp vanilla

In the top of a double boiler combine the egg whites, both sugars, cream of tartar, cold water, and salt; beat for 1 minute.  Cook the mixture over boiling water, beating constantly until the mixture forms stiff peaks - about 7 minutes.  Remove from the heat (remove top of double boiler from the boiling water - don't just set the pan off the stove).  Add the vanilla and beat until the frosting is of sp

Will frost and fill your favorite 2-layer cake.

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CAMPSITE CASSEROLE

 This is a recipe my late mother cut from the back side of a Rexall Drugstore Almanac Calendar many years ago.

Click on picture to enlarge for easier reading.

CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIE MIX IN A JAR

 

This is another of the clippings from my late mother's recipe shoebox. Click on the recipe to enlarge for easier reading.

PEANUT CHEESECAKE

This is another of the old recipe clippings from my late mother's recipe shoebox. I wish the date had been on the clipping but it isn't. I can tell from the picture of a couple on the back it was probably in the 60s or 70s.

You can click on the picture to enlarge it for easier reading.

SWEET AND SOUR BAKED BEANS

 

8 bacon slices, fried crisp and broken into medium-size pieces

4 large sweet onions, cut into rings
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 cup brown sugar
2 cans butter beans
1 can green lima beans
1 can red kidney beans, drained
1 large can baked beans

Combine the onions, brown sugar, vinegar, salt, and mustard in a large skillet.  Cook mixture on medium-low heat for 20 minutes to dissolve sugar and tenderize onions.  Add the bacon and all the beans.  Put in an ovenproof pan or dish and bake for 1 hour at 325 degrees.

Note:  You can also make this in a crock-pot or slow cooker.  Cook on low setting for 3 to 4 hours.

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PUMPKIN CHIFFON PUDDING WITH COCONUT

This is a little different way to enjoy that healthy pumpkin.  Now that I am diabetic I have updated my use of this recipe by replacing the sugar with Splenda granulated.  No need to hunt for unsweetened coconut since you use fresh grated!  But here is the original recipe for those of you who can still enjoy sugar.

1 cup sugar
2 tbsp butter
2 large eggs, separated
2 tbsp flour
3 cups cooked, mashed pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup grated fresh coconut

In a large bowl cream the sugar, butter, an egg yolks.  Add the flour, pumpkin, vanilla and mix together well.  Beat the egg whites until stiff and gently fold into the pumpkin mixture.  Pour into a lightly greased 9-inch square baking dish or pan.  Sprinkle the coconut over the top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Serves 6

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CORNBREAD DRESSING

 

I do not like turkey or chicken, but I do love the dressing.  I especially like it made with these soups.  Hope you will, too.  Some like the chopped boiled eggs so I have included them.  I don't particularly like them but they supply more of the protein I need as a diabetic.  Dressing is just as good without them, and I make it both ways.

2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1 can condensed cream of celery soup
2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup
4 cups chicken or turkey broth (I prefer vegetable broth)
9 x 11-inch pan unsweetened cornbread, crumbled
3/4 loaf stale white bread, crumbled
6 hard boiled eggs, chopped
4 large eggs
2 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp ground sage
1 tsp ground thymeaste
pepper to taste

Sauté the onion and celery in the vegetable oil until tender.  Add the soups and the broth and cook until heated through.

In a large bowl combine the crumbled cornbread, crumbled white bread, chopped eggs, raw eggs, and seasonings.  Add the soup/broth mixture and mix together well.  Pack into a large pan that has been greased and bake for 45 to 50 minutes at 350 degrees.

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